Software
Web Services
Movies
Music
Games
Hardware
In Theaters Now
In Theaters Now
In Theaters Now
In Theaters Now
sign up for our review notification
TopTenREVIEWS Blog
More news: Read about new site updates via our XML/RSS news feed
our XML/RSS feed

TopTenREVIEWS presents the movie reviews of Great Debaters, The (2007)

emailEmail to a friend
Great Debaters, The (2007) movie image

Great Debaters, The (2007)

RANKINGS:

Expand All | Close All
Ratings and rankings are based on number of movie, review scores, awards & other criteria.
Great Debaters, The (2007) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars Great Debaters, The (2007) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars
Overall Rating:2.9799
Avg Critic Score:2.9531

Great Debaters, The (2007) Rank 4 Reviews

Expert Review Summary
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Excellent
4
26.57%
(38)
Very Good
3
53.15%
(76)
Good
2
19.58%
(28)
Fair
1
0.70%
(1)
Poor
0
0.00%
(0)

Other Related Review Sites

In-depth, side-by-side comparisons and reviews

See a list of our 170+ review sites in software web services and electronics

back to main ratings and reviews...
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Spirituality and Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat) Spirituality and Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
An inspiring and well-acted film about an extraordinary African-American debating team in the 1930s with the talent and determination to excel. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Spirituality and Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Cinema in Focus (Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin) Cinema in Focus (Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin)
...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Cinema in Focus (Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Hollywood Snitch (Rilio Mastrantonio) Hollywood Snitch (Rilio Mastrantonio)
...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Hollywood Snitch (Rilio Mastrantonio)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Houston Community Newspapers (Gary Brown) Houston Community Newspapers (Gary Brown)
The packed house I saw the film with applauded at the end. You will, too. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Houston Community Newspapers (Gary Brown)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert) Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
"The Great Debaters" is about an underdog debate team that wins a national championship, and some critics have complained that it follows the formula of all sports movies by leading up, through great adversity, to a victory at the end. So it does. How man ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

Great Debaters, The (2007) Critic Reviews continued...

Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Detroit News (Tom Long) Detroit News (Tom Long)
Even if it does precisely what you expect it's going to do, you still love it for doing it so well and telling a tale that bears repeating. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Detroit News (Tom Long)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert) Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
"The Great Debaters" is about an underdog debate team that wins a national championship, and some critics have complained that it follows the formula of all sports movies by leading up, through great adversity, to a victory at the end. So it does. How ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for WaffleMovies.com (Willie Waffle) WaffleMovies.com (Willie Waffle)
As director, Washington makes speechifying as exciting as a touchdown run! ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at WaffleMovies.com (Willie Waffle)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for NewsBlaze (Prairie Miller) NewsBlaze (Prairie Miller)
There's a real organic sense in the film of how young minds can be nurtured and energized way beyond sex, sports and slacker attitude, into caring and evolving kid works-in-progress. And how debating can be pretty cool too, who knew? ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at NewsBlaze (Prairie Miller)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Compuserve (Harvey S. Karten) Compuserve (Harvey S. Karten)
An embarrassing chapter in America's history of race relations becomes the scene of wonderful uplift in Denzel Washington's moving and true story of how a small African-American college debating team took on Harvard's in 1935. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Compuserve (Harvey S. Karten)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for Parent Previews Parent Previews
Helmed by Denzil Washington under the umbrella of Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions, The Great Debaters exposes a forgotten slice of African American history when a small black college became ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Parent Previews
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for Dallas Morning News (Chris Vognar) Dallas Morning News (Chris Vognar)
With Antwone Fisher and now The Great Debaters , Mr. Washington has made a pair of movies that dodge enough clichés to indulge in a few." ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Dallas Morning News (Chris Vognar)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for The Cinema Source (Michael M. Dance) The Cinema Source (Michael M. Dance)
It’s true that The Great Debaters is essentially Remember the Titans with a debate team, but it’s not like that’s a bad thing. With its charismatic lead performance by Denzel Washington, a host of talented young unknowns, and a positive racial messa ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at The Cinema Source (Michael M. Dance)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for Beliefnet (Nell Minow) Beliefnet (Nell Minow)
Ultimately, as it should be, what carries the day is the power of the arguments and our recognition that it is forming these positions that will lead to the foundation of the civil rights era. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Beliefnet (Nell Minow)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for Philadelphia Daily News (Gary Thompson) Philadelphia Daily News (Gary Thompson)
There's so much to like in Denzel Washington's new movie, it's easier to accentuate the positive. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Philadelphia Daily News (Gary Thompson)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith) Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)
It's about finding the courage to raise your voice in the face of great hatred, opposition and fear. That it comes by coincidence in the wake of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto gives it an immediacy and a power it otherwise might have lacked. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for E! Online (Dezhda Mountz) E! Online (Dezhda Mountz)
Instead of exploiting this cruel reality, Washington's camera records both scenes of joy and scenes of tragedy with equal composure, never milking for effect. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at E! Online (Dezhda Mountz)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for Boston Herald (James Verniere) Boston Herald (James Verniere)
...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Boston Herald (James Verniere)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.60 out of 4 stars for
It’s almost impossible for men to know what women want, or, more important, why they want what they want because of the complete differences between their bodies and hormones. Similarly, it’s extremely difficult for a white American to be empathetic w ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer) Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer)
The Great Debaters succeeds in bringing a lump to the throat without, as is de rigueur these days, insulting our intelligence. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Film School Rejects (Nate Deen) Film School Rejects (Nate Deen)
...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Film School Rejects (Nate Deen)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for EricDSnider.com (Eric D. Snider) EricDSnider.com (Eric D. Snider)
A perfectly respectable drama, made from the Inspiring Sports Movie template. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at EricDSnider.com (Eric D. Snider)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth) Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
Turns out Denzel Washington makes magic on both sides of the camera. Washington helms and stars in this tight period weeper inspired by an African-American college debate team that took the circuit by storm in the deeply segregated 1930s South. The ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Entertainment Insiders (Jonathan W. Hickman) Entertainment Insiders (Jonathan W. Hickman)
The sport of debating is all about passion. And content, of course. Although it’s the passion that is often most effective—not just the passion of the debater but the transfer of that passion to those listening. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Entertainment Insiders (Jonathan W. Hickman)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Oregonian (Mike Russell) Oregonian (Mike Russell)
Debaters is a real crowd-pleaser. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Oregonian (Mike Russell)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Sacramento Bee (Carla Meyer) Sacramento Bee (Carla Meyer)
Washington the director certainly knows the strengths of Washington the actor. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Sacramento Bee (Carla Meyer)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for eFilmCritic.com (Brian Orndorf) eFilmCritic.com (Brian Orndorf)
The bottom line is, this is a stirring portrait of African-American intelligence and pride, and if you poured this content over Tyler Perry's head, he would melt just like the Wicked Witch of the West. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Brian Orndorf)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey) Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)
In the annals of David and Goliath contests, collegiate division, is there a contender humbler than the 1935 debating team of Wiley College when it faced off against the Harvard giants? Truth be told, having the team from the historically black East ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman) San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman)
Long before the word "forensic" became synonymous with cadavers being sliced up in prime time, forensic societies - debating clubs engaged in bare-knuckle intellectual combat - flourished in high schools and colleges throughout the land. "The Great ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for The Denver Post The Denver Post
From the opening credits carried forth on a vibrant rendition of "My Soul Is a Witness," the second-time director takes comforting genre conventions and uses them to tell a culturally potent tale. "Debate is blood sport," ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at The Denver Post
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Imbued with social and historical importance and graced with a gifted cast, "The Great Debaters" elegantly gives life to a little-known underdog story. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Reeling Reviews (Robin Clifford) Reeling Reviews (Robin Clifford)
...it should find a solid audience with its inspired story and attractive cast that will do well with younger auds, too. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Reeling Reviews (Robin Clifford)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Boxoffice Magazine (Mark Keizer) Boxoffice Magazine (Mark Keizer)
The Great Debaters is passionate in a professional way, a very fine movie that should have challenged its audience as much as it challenged its characters. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Boxoffice Magazine (Mark Keizer)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Boston Globe (Wesley Morris) Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)
For a film about the power of speech, it's the quiet moments of rapture that say everything. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson) Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)
It's like the smartest kid in the class being content to slide by with a B instead of putting in just a little bit of effort for an A. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for The Denver Post The Denver Post
From the opening credits carried forth on a vibrant rendition of "My Soul Is a Witness," the second-time director takes comforting genre conventions and uses them to tell a culturally potent tale. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at The Denver Post
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman) Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)
... The Great Debaters soars with words and feeling. ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)
Great Debaters, The (2007) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for ReelViews (James Berardinelli) ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
It's one thing to tell people about the wounds in the fabric of this country that the Civil Rights movement attempted to repair; it's another thing to show them. Unfortunately, too many films made about racism during the first two-thirds of the 20th ...read the complete Great Debaters movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Copyright © 2008 TopTenREVIEWS, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Re production in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of TopTenREVIEWS, Inc. is prohibited.